As the Indian Oil Corporation ltd (IOCl) is set to commission its 15-million-tonne-per-annum (MTPA) oil refinery at Paradip later this year, hectic activities have started for development of the proposed Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region (PCPIR) with the refinery as anchor tenant.
At a seminar on Paradip PCPIR, organised by the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IICE), Bhubaneswar Regional Centre in association with the Indian Chemical Council (ICC), Mumbai, here on Monday, IOCl executives, government officials, developers, experts from industries, investors and policy planning bodies deliberated on the potential opportunities of investment in the region.
UK-based NEPIC CEO Stanley Higgins said his company is ready to offer consultancy and organise investors for the Paradip PCPIR. According to him, the NEPIC has rich knowledge and experience in developing industrial clusters world over. Seminar chairman Durga Mishra explained about the downstream industries that could be developed basing on an oil refinery as the anchor tenant.
Paradip Port Chairman SS Mishra and IPICOl CMD G Mathi Vathanan harped on the infrastructure facilities that are being developed in view of the upcoming PCPIR. IOCl Executive Director Sidharth Mitra said the oil refinery is going to be commissioned in a phased manner from this year. He said the IOCl is expecting the company board’s approval for setting up a polypropylene plant with an investment of Rs 150 crore which would come up by 2017-18.
The Paradip PCPIR would come up over an area of 284.15 sqkm with a processing area of 123.014 sqkm in Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur districts. The PCPIR hub at Paradip is expected to attract investment to the tune of Rs 2.74 lakh crore.